US20090307835A1

US20090307835A1 - Bath

Info

Publication number: US20090307835A1
Application number: US12/374,142
Authority: US
Inventors: Fabio Anastasi Vavvessi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-07-19
Filing date: 2007-07-19
Publication date: 2009-12-17
Also published as: WO2008010192A3; JP2009543651A; ITRM20060379A1; WO2008010192A2; EP2048996A2

Abstract

A bath (100) comprises a support (1) of foamed polymeric material, substantially soft, suitable for defining a volume suitable for being filled with water or other liquid intended for sanitary purposes, characterised in that it further comprises a coating (2), for at least partly covering said support (1), said coating (2) being made mosaic-wise by a plurality of blocks (21), said blocks exhibiting structural stiffness higher than said support (1).

Description

The present invention relates to an improved bath.
In the sanitary field, in particular in the household, a plurality of types of bath with the most varied shapes, dimensions and features is known.
However, even if over the last years the use of more or less complex technical details has become widespread, first of all the use of various hydromassage systems, and shapes more or less different from the conventional one with rectangular plan are used, the known baths are always limited to the simple conventional uses and made of the same materials, mostly fibreglass or at most ceramic.
Such selection of the materials implies several limitations and problems that are felt in a more or less evident manner.
As is easily guessed, a first problem resulting from such baths is related to problems of accidents because the surface of known baths is particularly hard but at the same time slippery when wet. As a consequence, in the event of falls, the impact may be particularly violent, even with serious consequences for the user.
For the same reason, a certainly less serious problem is that related to the poor comfort of the material, this being hard and even cold to the touch.
In order to solve at least partly the two above problems, baths coated with padding of soft materials have been devised, however the main problem resulting from such a solution is related to a considerable wear and tear of the material and to the resulting washing difficulties.
Along with such problems, a further disadvantage of baths made according to the prior art is related to the fact of being difficult to process and transport.
In fact, it should be noted that the baths are made by moulding processes, which therefore require considerable investments in the manufacture of the mould itself.
As a consequence, a high customisation of the bath shape is not possible or at least it is not economically advantageous.
On the other hand as regards transport, the main problem relates to the weight of the bath that exhibits a mass which makes transport and installation thereof prohibitive.
Finally, a minor but still felt problem relates to the very poor thermal insulation and soundproofing features of the prior art baths. As regards soundproofing, it must be noted that often the neighbours do not like the noise of pelting water that fills the bath, while as regards the thermal aspect, it is known that fibreglass has poor or null capacity of thermal insulation and therefore it let the water heat spread to the external environment.
Thus, the technical problem at the basis of the present invention is to provide a bath which should allow to solve the disadvantages mentioned above with reference to the prior art.
Such problem is solved by a bath according to claim 1.
The present invention provides some important advantages. The main advantage consists in the fact that the bath according to the present invention allows a high protection from accidents further being especially pleasant on the body upon contact. Also transport and customisation of the shapes are easily made, since no materials with high specific weight or complex moulding operations are required.
Finally, the used materials also allow optimum thermal insulation and soundproofing.

Further advantages, features and the methods of use of the present invention will appear clearly from the following detailed description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of illustrative and non-limiting examples. Reference shall be made to the figures of the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective partially dissected view of a bath according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 2A respectively show a cross section view and a detail thereof, showing the bath of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section view of the bath of FIG. 1 and of respective vibrating means.

With reference at first to FIG. 1, a bath according to the present invention is generally indicated with reference numeral 100.
The bath comprises a support 1 made of a foamed polymeric material, for example foam rubber. In any case, in general such materials are characterised by a certain softness and low specific weight.
In order to make the material of which the support is made more water repellent, since such foamed polymeric materials are not always perfectly water repellent, the support is advantageously coated with a water repellent outer film 14, for example made with two layers of polyurethane coating, of which one is charged with aramid.
Such film can also optionally allow to improve the surface hardness of the support, so as to decrease the wear and tear thereof related to the normal use of the bath.
As shown in FIG. 1, the support is suitable for defining a volume 101 inside which water or other liquid intended for the sanitary uses the bath will be used for, and thus inside which the user can plunge, can be received.
To this subject, it should be noted that the bath according to the present invention can be used, besides household purposes, also by way of an example in hospitals or in wellbeing centres, and can therefore contain even liquids other than simple water.
Besides defining the useful volume for receiving the liquid wherein the user can plunge, support 1 also allows to define a special support portion of the bath that will allow the positioning of the same onto the floor or other support surface.
According to a preferred embodiment, the support can further comprise two different layers of materials, always foamed polymeric materials but with different mechanical features, for example the layer being suitable for defining the volume can be softer than that of the support portion.
It is clear that even other combinations may be provided for such layers, optionally present in a number larger than two. In fact, with reference to FIG. 2, as it will be seen hereinafter, a further layer 13 at the edges may be provided for making baths with walls having inclinations even below 90° relative to the bottom.
Thus, with reference again to FIG. 1, the bath according to the present invention further comprises a coating 2 of support 1, which covers at least partly the inner side walls and the bottom of the bath.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, moreover, the coating is mosaic-wise, by a plurality of blocks 21, substantially arranged one next to the other. Blocks 21 further exhibit structural stiffness higher than said support 1, ensuring a greater overall resistance of the structure, being arranged next to one another so as to make a substantially continuous coating.
As a consequence, the combination between support and coating will be on the one hand sufficiently resistant to receive the liquid in volume 101, on the other hand it will not be affected by the problems of accidents, since each block 21 can slightly sink in support 1, thus allowing to cushion any collisions resulting from falls.
According to a preferred embodiment, blocks 21 are made of multilayer wood, especially treated to be water repellent and fire resistant.
In fact, it has been noted that wood allows to obtain optimum aesthetic quality, together with sufficient surface resistance and limited weights.
In any case, it is clear that even other materials may be used, for example plastic or ceramic materials.
As illustrated in FIG. 2A, blocks 21 may be fixed to the support, optionally coated by the film, by means of an adhesive, for example silicon based, which allows the adhesion of the blocks without impairing the softness of the structure in general.
With reference again to FIGS. 1 and 2, it should be also noted that the bath according to the present invention can advantageously exhibit coating 2 at all the outer surface of the support, both for aesthetical reasons and, as already explained, for improving the mechanical features of the entire structure forming the support as a whole.
The bath, moreover, provides special connections to drainages and taps, not shown in the figure, that are suitable for the soft material the support is made of.
Such connections can in any case be made in a manner substantially similar to the traditional baths, using special reinforcements of the support at such connections to the drainages.
In any case, systems especially devised for effectively adapting to the bath according to the present invention may be provided.
Thus, it should be noted that besides exhibiting excellent features from an accident prevention point of view, the bath according to the present invention allows a particularly simple and inexpensive processing, further allowing high customisation of shapes and dimensions.
In fact, the support can be made simply by engraving a block of foamed polymeric materials, so as to carry out also a non serial processing, without excessive increase of costs.
Always thanks to the combination used, the bath according to the present invention also allows maximum easiness of transport, thanks to the limited specific weight of the materials used.
Moreover, such features are also suitable for making baths of small dimensions, which can be not connected to the household water system, and put away after use. In this case, the bath will be advantageously provided with special water drainage means.
With reference then to FIG. 3, the bath according to the present invention can advantageously comprise at least one vibrating element 3, arranged inside support 1, underneath coating 2, for example made by an eccentric rotating mass.
Since support 1 is made of a soft material, the vibrating element will be free to carry out the vibrating action, propagating it to the coating and thus to the user's body.
Such aspect allows to make in a simple manner a massaging bath, which can be conveniently used for both household and therapeutic uses.
To this purpose, the bath can be advantageously provided with a plurality of vibrating elements and with a control unit of the same, which allows programming thereof according to different frequencies and intensities, so as to adapt as good as possible to the user's needs.
Besides the vibrating elements, also motors may be envisaged, provided with special cams that control the movement of the blocks, always through support 1, for carrying out an even more localised massaging action.
Always thanks to the presence of blocks 21, the bath according to the present invention can also be conveniently used for chromotherapy treatments, using the action of optical fibres passing between two adjacent blocks and thus diffusing light in the water.
The present invention has been described so far wit reference to preferred embodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may exist that relate to the same inventive scope, all falling within the scope of protection of the following claims.

Claims

1. A bath comprising a support of foamed polymeric material, substantially soft, suitable for defining a volume suitable for being filled with water or other liquid intended for sanitary purposes, wherein the bath further comprises a coating, for at least partly covering said support, said coating being made mosaic-wise by a plurality of blocks, said blocks exhibiting structural stiffness higher than said support.

2. The bath according to claim 1, wherein said blocks are arranged substantially one next to the other, so that said coating is suitable for defining a substantially continuous covering surface of said support.

3. The bath according to claim 1, wherein said coating is arranged for covering side walls and bottom of said bath, said side walls and said bottom being suitable for defining said volume suitable for being filled with water or other liquid.

4. The bath according to claim 1, wherein said blocks are made of wood.

5. The bath according to claim 1, wherein said support is made by superimposition of different layers.

6. The bath according to claim 5, wherein said support comprises an outer film of water repellent material.

7. The bath according to claim 6, wherein said film comprises two layers of polyurethane coating, one of said two layers being charged with aramid.

8. The bath according to claim 1, wherein said blocks are fixed to said support by an adhesive.

9. The bath according to claim 1, comprising at least one vibrating element, said vibrating element being immersed in said support and being suitable for placing said blocks in vibration.

10. The bath according to claim 9, wherein said vibrating elements are present in a number at least equal to two, being suitable for performing a vibratory movement reciprocally coordinated by a control unit.

11. The bath according to claim 1, comprising at least one cam element, said cam element being immersed in said support and suitable for being placed in rotation so as to perform a massaging action on the user's body.

12. The bath according to claim 1, comprising optical fibres suitable for producing light between said blocks.